Bruins' Patrice Bergeron Played with Broken Rib, Separated Shoulder in Game 6

Boston Bruins star forward Patrice Bergeron played with a slew of nasty injuries in the clinching Game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, according to Joe Haggerty of CSN.

He went out on the ice for 24 shifts, notching 17:45 of ice time in a high-flying, hard-hitting Game 6 with injuries that would've sidelined players in likely any other situation other than a game where a championship was on the line.

It nearly paid off, as it took two Chicago Blackhawks goals in 17 seconds late in the third period to avoid a Game 7 and secure the Stanley Cup for Chicago.

The status of the 27-year-old was in doubt over the last few days after he left Game 5 late in the first period and headed straight to the hospital. It was pegged as a miraculous comeback by Haggerty that he even suited up Monday.

Now we know why. He was dealing with severe injuries that most professional sports players wouldn't even fathom playing through.

According to Dan Rosen of NHL.com before Game 6, Bruins coach Claude Julien was quite silent about what Bergeron was dealing with as far as injuries go.

With Bergeron emerging as a one-man wrecking crew for Boston over the course of this postseason, we shouldn't be surprised that Julien kept his star's status mum. After all, Bergeron was likely one big hit away from crumbling. After Game 6, you could see the emotion on his face in a brief Tout video.

It's not exactly an uncommon occurrence for hockey players and coaches to attempt to keep injuries undisclosed. While some teams look to not give their opponent anything to aim for, others likely do it to keep the chatter at a minimum.

In Boston's case entering Game 6, there's absolutely no secret now as to why it kept the news on the down low.

The eight-year veteran often was Boston's best source of offensive firepower in the series, scoring four goals in the first five games. When he and Jonathan Toews each went down in Game 5, it could be argued that the game lost its two best players.

It's nothing short of admirable that Bergeron was able to play through such severe injuries. A broken rib would put me out of anything remotely physical for weeks, much less separating a shoulder and having to play a gut-wrenching game with the Stanley Cup on the line.

Bodies were flying everywhere in Game 6, much like the rest of the series, and Bergeron was often in the line of fire by laying out two hits in the game.

Bergeron dazzled us all season and throughout the entirety of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with epic goal-scoring ability and toughness to take over any game. It's only fitting that he went out fighting through what must've been grueling pain.